Starcatchers and Fife Gingerbread work in partnership to deliver CashBack for Young Parents in Fife. Play and Explore is delivered weekly by Starcatchers in Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline, and these free creative play sessions are designed for babies aged birth to two years old and their grown-ups.
Before [CashBack] I had a good behaviour order due to issues against my ex. This has now been dropped and I very rarely drink. I am no longer bothered about his actions and don’t let this influence me. I am able to make all my own decisions.
CashBack for Young Parents is a 3-year programme delivered in partnership with Starcatchers and Fife Gingerbread, and supported by the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities fund.
Fife Gingerbread is a voluntary sector organisation that provides information, advice and support to lone parents and families in need all over Fife. The partnership builds on the success of previous community engagement activities in the region – Where We Are and Expecting Something.
As part of the CashBack for Young Parents programme, Starcatchers delivers Play & Explore, a weekly Fife-based group offering free creative play sessions for young parents under 25, with little ones aged birth to two years old. Every week takes different art forms and themes, inspired by what the wee ones enjoy most! From messy music to a dinosaur adventure, each session is full of exciting new things for wee ones and their adults to discover together.
What makes Play & Explore different is the Artist-Support Worker model that has been developed by Starcatchers and Fife Gingerbread. Starcatchers’ Artist, Roz, and Support Worker, Katie, work very closely to deliver sessions, offering a safe and inclusive artistic environment to enhance parental skills and confidence, with access to one-to-one emotional support threaded throughout the weekly sessions.
The programme takes place in two locations across Fife: Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath. Sessions are laid-back creative explorations delivered by early years artists who use different art forms and exciting materials for wee ones and their grown-ups to dive into!
To find out more about the CashBack for Young Parents programme, or to refer a young parent to our sessions, email lead artist Roz McAndrew.
Project staff undertake the Scottish Government’s 20-minute UNCRC training tool – 20 Minute Children’s Rights Training on an annual basis and the training tool can be found on their website here.
Lead Artist, Fife
Roz is an actor and facilitator based in Edinburgh. She is passionate about working with children and families who might not traditionally engage in the arts, as well as creating accessible work for early years audiences and children with additional complex needs.
Associate Artist, Creative Approaches to ASN, Expecting Something and Play & Explore
Kirstin Georgia Abraham is a visual artist and play practitioner born in Gibraltar and currently based in Fife, Scotland.
Associate Artist, Fife
Rachael is a freelance drama facilitator, actor and some times director based in Fife. She loves working with young people, children, and babies, especially in their communities.
Unicorn Dance Party brought plenty of summer festivities to Dunfermline this July as Starcatchers and Fife Gingerbread hosted an unforgettable event for families taking part in their Cashback for Young Parents programme.
We’re delighted to announce that Starcatchers Play and Explore lead artist, Roz McAndrew, has won Fife Gingerbread’s award for Trust at the organisation’s 2022 AGM on Wednesday 5th October.
From dino-play to outdoor rhythms and messy music, Starcatchers’ Where We Are project became a fixture for many young families across Fife over the last year.
